![]() ![]() “The loss of Arecibo is a big loss for the community,” says Tony Beasley, director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Va. ![]() Cables that suspended a platform of scientific instruments above the dish snapped, causing the platform to fall into the dish.įor Puerto Rico, losing Arecibo is like New York losing the Empire State Building, or San Francisco losing the Golden Gate Bridge, Rivera-Valentín says - but with the added tragedy that Arecibo was not just a cultural and historic icon, but a prolific research facility. But before the telescope could be dismantled, the entire instrument platform crashed down into the dish on December 1.Īfter suffering damage in recent months, the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico collapsed on December 1. After assessing the damage, the National Science Foundation, which funds Arecibo, announced that the telescope could not be safely repaired and would be torn down ( SN: 11/19/20). In August and November, two cables supporting a 900-metric-ton platform of scientific instruments above Arecibo’s dish unexpectedly broke. So the recent news that the Arecibo Observatory would shut down was “heartbreaking.” Now at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Rivera-Valentín continues to use Arecibo data to study planetary surfaces. “Looking at this gigantic telescope … getting to hear about all this neat work that was being done … it definitely leaves an impression.” Important science was happening right in the backyard of Rivera-Valentín’s hometown of Arecibo, Puerto Rico - and someday, Rivera-Valentín wanted to be a part of it.Īs an adult, Rivera-Valentín returned to the observatory to work as a planetary scientist, using Arecibo to map the shapes and motions of potentially dangerous near-Earth asteroids. “I definitely remember this feeling of just being awestruck,” Rivera-Valentín says. Edgard Rivera-Valentín first visited the Arecibo Observatory as a little kid. ![]()
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